This week, a $500,000 Norfolk Southern gift has brought together the Atlanta History Center and the Georgia Historical Society in a first-of-its-kind archival exchange, reuniting long-separated records from the Central of Georgia and Southern Railway collections.

Archives from the Central of Georgia and Southern Railway collections.

Credit: Norfolk Southern

“There are four truckloads of archives to sort through and digitize,” said Kristin Wong, Norfolk Southern Foundation & Community Impact Director. “Rail history is the most popular subject searched at the Atlanta History Center and this will now make the information more accessible to everyone.”

Workers move archive materials from the Central of Georgia and Southern Railway collections.

The exchange will resolve longstanding challenges for researchers who previously had to travel between Atlanta and Savannah to access rail materials.

Georgia Historical Society CEO W. Todd Groce called the archival consolidation “a historic agreement,” while Atlanta History Center CEO Sheffield Hale said, “We are opening new doors for researchers, students, and history lovers everywhere.”

The history of the South is largely defined by the railroads. 

Old 'Central of Georgia' archive photo.

Credit: Norfolk Southern

“The role these (rail) lines played in shaping this part of the country is endlessly fascinating,” added Ms. Wong. "So many generations employed, communities defined, economically, politically, socially, it’s all in the archives."

The Georgia Historical Society currently holds two-thirds of the personal papers of Helen Dortch Longstreet, the outspoken widow of the controversial Confederate Gen. James Longstreet. Ms. Longstreet was a political progressive and active in an assortment of causes in the early part of the 20th century; she also ran for governor. The remaining third of her papers are now reunited inside the Atlanta History Center.

Helen Dortch Longstreet/Longstreet Society.

Credit: Longstreet Society

"Supporting the preservation and accessibility of these remarkable archives honors our heritage and reinforces our commitment to connecting people, places and history,” said Ms. Wong.

Norfolk Southern is Atlanta-based, with a new skyscraper in Midtown, and operates a 22-state transportation network. The rail company serves much of the nation’s population and manufacturing base.

Like all rail companies in the United States, NS has a fascinating history of gobbling other providers through the centuries.

Graphic displaying Norfolk and Western railroad map across the U.S.

Credit: Norfolk Southern

Four years ago, the company donated the complete archives of the Southern Railway to the AHC. Southern’s beginnings are traced to 1828, and its heritage is traced to 200 different rail lines through the years.

Norfolk and Western merged with Southern in 1980. Meanwhile, Central of Georgia began in 1895, ran into financial trouble in 1932, emerging from receivership in 1948 and was swallowed by Southern Railway in 1963. 

The Beltline is 22 miles of Southern Railway track around Atlanta. Rail history, always a definition of Atlanta. Still is in 2025, leading to a renewal and renaissance of communities and economic punch to an ever-growing city.

Archive materials organized from the Central of Georgia and Southern Railway collections.

Credit: Norfolk Southern

In July, there was an announcement of a proposed Norfolk Southern merger with Union Pacific for $85 billion. The joint headquarters will be in Omaha, Neb. If approved, this would be a big loss for Atlanta and Midtown. Consolidation is as much a part of rail history as conductors and cabooses.